2000–01 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 2000–01 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the team's 34th in the National Hockey League. The team played 82 games under new Head Coach Ivan Hlinka, who replaced Herb Brooks, who stepped down to remain a scout with the team.

Offseason

Herb Brooks resigned as head coach at the end of the previous season, but remained with the team as a scout. Ivan Hlinka succeeded Brooks as head coach. Former Penguin Joe Mullen became an assistant coach along with his former teammate Randy Hillier.

Regular season

The Penguins opened the regular season by splitting a two-game series against the Nashville Predators in Japan.

On December 9, 2000, it was announced by owner Mario Lemieux that he intended to come back as a player. Lemieux returned to the ice on December 27, 2000. Prior to the game, his number 66 banner was lowered from the rafters of the Mellon Arena with son Austin watching. Lemieux scored a goal and set up two others (including one on his first shift) in the Penguins' 5–0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Prior to Lemieux's return, the Penguins were 15–14–6–1. After his comeback, the Penguins went 27–14–3–2 for a regular season record of 42–28–9–3 and a third-place finish in the Atlantic Division for a playoff spot. The Penguins were shut out only once all year, on October 28 against the New Jersey Devils. Only New Jersey scored more goals than Pittsburgh during the regular season. Jaromir Jagr had a stellar year, leading the team in goals (52), assists (69) and points (121). Alexei Kovalev had a career year, finishing with 44 goals and 51 assists for 95 points. Martin Straka finished second on the team in assists (68) and had 27 goals for 95 points, while Robert Lang had 32 goals and 48 assists for 80 points. In just 43 games, Lemieux had 35 goals and 41 assists for 76 points.

Final standings

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

Z- Clinched Conference; Y- Clinched Division; X- Clinched Playoff spot

Schedule and results

Injuries

Playoffs

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

The Penguins opened the playoffs against the Washington Capitals. It was their sixth meeting in the playoffs. The Penguins were shut out in Game 1, 1–0. Lemieux scored a goal and had an assist in Game 2, which was won by the Penguins, 2–1. Newcomer Johan Hedberg shut out the Capitals in Game 3. The Capitals won Game 4 in overtime, 4-3. However, game-winning goals by Lemieux and Martin Straka in Game 5 and 6 won the series for the Penguins, 4–2.

Eastern Conference Semifinals

The Penguins played the Buffalo Sabres in the conference semi-finals. The Penguins won Game 1 by the score of 3–0 and Game 2 by the score of 3–1. The Sabres won the next three games, pushing the Penguins to elimination. However, overtime-winning goals by Straka and Darius Kasparaitis in Game 6 and 7 won the series for the Penguins. Game 7 was Dominik Hasek's last game as a Sabre; he would sign with the Detroit Red Wings in the off-season.

Eastern Conference Finals

The Penguins and the New Jersey Devils split the first two games of the series before the Devils took games three, four, and five to eliminate the Penguins.

Player statistics

Skaters

Goaltenders

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Team only.
     – Denotes league leader.

Awards and records

Milestones

Making their NHL Regular Season debuts in 2000–01 were Roman Simicek, Toby Petersen, Billy Tibbetts, Greg Crozier, Milan Kraft and Johan Hedberg.

Awards

Broadcaster Mike Lange was also awarded the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award in 2001, thus securing his induction into the broadcaster's wing of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Jaromir Jagr, Alexei Kovalev and Mario Lemieux were all selected to participate in the 2001 NHL All-Star Game. Lemieux captained the North American All-Stars and scored two points. Kovalev was a reserve for the World All-Stars and also scored two points. Jagr was voted as a starter for the World All-Stars, but could not play due to an injury.

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 2000–01 season:^[7]

Trades

Player signings Player Date Contract terms Darcy Verot July 28, 2000 Sven Butenschon July 28, 2000 Janne Laukkanen July 30, 2000 Matthew Barnaby July 31, 2000 1-year/$1.1 million Rene Corbet July 31, 2000 1-year/$825,000 Josef Beranek August 3, 2000 Dennis Bonvie August 10, 2000 Valentin Morozov August 16, 2000 Jean-Sebastien Aubin September 24, 2000 Jason MacDonald September 29, 2000 Mario Lemieux December 11, 2000 1-year/$1.4 million Darcy Robinson June 4, 2001 Kevin Stevens June 11, 2001 Personnel Pittsburgh Penguins 2001 Final Roster Goaltenders 1 – Johan Hedberg  30 – Jean-Sebastien Aubin  Defensemen 3 – Marc Bergevin  5 – Janne Laukkanen  6 – Bob Boughner  7 – Andrew Ference  8 – Hans Jonsson  11 – Darius Kasparaitis  23 – Steve McKenna  24 – Ian Moran  Wingers 9 – Rene Corbet  22 – Dan LaCouture  25 – Kevin Stevens  27 – Alexei Kovalev  29 – Krzysztof Oliwa  68 – Jaromir Jagr - (C)  95 – Aleksey Morozov  Centers 14 – Milan Kraft  15 – Wayne Primeau  18 – Josef Beranek  20 – Robert Lang  38 – Jan Hrdina  66 – Mario Lemieux  82 – Martin Straka  Pittsburgh Penguins 2000–01 staff Executive operations Ownership - Mario Lemieux * Chief Executive Officer - Mario Lemieux Chairman - Mario Lemieux President - Mario Lemieux Executive Vice President/General Manager - Craig Patrick   Hockey operations Assistant General Manager - Eddie Johnston Head coach - Ivan Hlinka Assistant coaches - Joe Mullen, Randy Hillier Draft picks The Penguins selected the following players at the 2000 NHL Entry Draft at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary:[8] Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League) 1 18 Brooks Orpik Defense  United States Boston College (Hockey East) 2 52 Shane Endicott Center  Canada Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) 3 84 Peter Hamerlik Goaltender  Slovakia Skalica (Slovakia) 4 124[a] Michel Ouellet Right Wing  Canada Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL) 5 146[b] David Koci Defense  Czech Republic Sparta Praha Jr. (Czech Republic) 6 185 Patrick Foley Left Wing  United States University of New Hampshire (Hockey East) 7 216 Jim Abbott Left Wing  United States University of New Hampshire (Hockey East) 8 248 Steven Crampton Right Wing  Canada Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) 9 273[c] Roman Simicek Center  Czech Republic HPK Hameenlinna (SM-liiga) 9 280 Nick Boucher Goaltender  Canada Darthmouth College Draft notes[9] The Pittsburgh Penguins' fourth-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a June 24, 2000 trade that sent a 2000 fourth-round pick and a 2000 fifth-round pick to the Penguins in exchange for this pick. a The Montreal Canadiens' fourth-round pick (from the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim) went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a June 24, 2000 trade that sent a 2000 fourth-round pick to the Canadiens in exchange for a 2000 fifth-round pick and this pick. b The Montreal Canadiens' fifth-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a June 24, 2000 trade that sent a 2000 fourth-round pick to the Canadiens in exchange for a 2000 fourth-round pick and this pick. The Pittsburgh Penguins' fifth-round pick went to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim as the result of a March 14, 2000 trade that sent Dan Trebil to the Penguins in exchange for this pick. c The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim's ninth-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a January 29, 2000 trade that sent Kip Miller to the Mighty Ducks in exchange for this pick. Farm teams The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL finished second in the Mid-Atlantic Division with a record of 36-33-9-2 record. They defeated the Syracuse Crunch, Philadelphia Phantoms and Hershey Bears to win the Robert W. Clarke Trophy as Western Conference playoff champions. They lost to the Saint John Flames in six games in the Calder Cup Finals. John Slaney won the Eddie Shore Award as defenseman of the year. The ECHL's Wheeling Nailers finished last overall with a record of 24-40-8. See also 2000–01 NHL season References ↑ "2000-2001 Division Standings". NHL.com. Retrieved July 15, 2012.  ↑ "2000–2001 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 15, 2012.  ↑ "2000–2001 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.  ↑ "2000–2001 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.  ↑ "2000–2001 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.  ↑ "2000–2001 – Playoffs – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.  ↑ "Hockey Transactions Search Results". ProSportsTransactions. Retrieved September 3, 2012.  ↑ "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". NHL.com. Retrieved July 14, 2012.  ↑ "2000 NHL Entry Draft Pending Transactions". ProSportsTransactions. Retrieved July 14, 2012.  "2000–01 Pittsburgh Penguins Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-06.  External links Pittsburgh Penguins Founded in 1967 Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Franchise Team General managers Coaches Players Captains Draft picks Seasons Affiliates Current season History 1967 Expansion Expansion Draft Award winners Team MVPs Owners Records Personnel Owners Ronald Burkle Mario Lemieux General manager Jim Rutherford Head coach Mike Sullivan Team captain Sidney Crosby Current roster Arenas Main facilities Civic Arena Consol Energy Center Training facilities Brantford Civic Centre Rostraver Ice Garden Island Sports Center IceoPlex at Southpointe Rivalries Philadelphia Flyers Affiliates AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins ECHL Wheeling Nailers General managers J. Riley R. Kelly J. Riley J. Button W. Blair B. Bastien E. Johnston T. Esposito C. Patrick R. Shero J. Rutherford Head coaches G. Sullivan R. Kelly K. Schinkel M. Boileau K. Schinkel J. Wilson E. Johnston L. Angotti B. Berry P. Creamer G. Ubriaco C. Patrick B. Johnson S. Bowman E. Johnston C. Patrick K. Constantine H. Brooks I. Hlinka R. Kehoe E. Olczyk M. Therrien D. Bylsma M. Johnston M. 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